Down the Road
by pragmatice
Summary: A series of one-shots based on the idea if Mako was an officer at the time of Book One.


**an:**** So I've fixed up the original and put it all in one chapter! Comments, complaints or concerns? Feel free to review!**

idea: **Came from ohmykorra's tumblr. Thanks for letting me use it :)**

**title: ****Because I'm uncreative, the title of this comes from a song by C2C**

* * *

Korra had many expectations for Republic City. Fame and glory? Definitely. Attractive guys? Yes please. Being chased down by the police for a crime _totally_ not her fault? Um, no. Not exactly.

"Come on, Naga!" She shouted, clutching the reins harder than necessary. The polar bear dog huffed, but sped up as ordered. Korra smiled. _Easy peasy._

That was until the motorcycles started up. There were about four of them, all surrounding her with the one in the front seeming to be the leader. Korra growled and yanked the reins toward an opening in the road, leading towards what seemed to be a park. "Come on, girl, you can do it!" Naga yelped and continued on towards the break.

Most of the cycles seemed to have missed the turn, all except one, the one Korra assumed to be the leader. She sighed and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. _Losing him may be harder than I thought. _She turned Naga right, to what seemed to be through the same pond she had fished in earlier. Turning to smirk once she was on the other side, Korra froze when she saw he wasn't behind her. He was in front of her.

Naga growled and started to dart towards the man who was getting off of his bike. "No, Naga. Stay." The Avatar pulled her reins back and regarded the man with cold eyes. "Anything I can help you with, officer?"

He took off his helmet and goggles and looked at her with harsh golden eyes. "Are you aware that you not only damaged private property, but also evaded arrest _and_ caused a disturbance on our road ways?"

Korra glared. "Yeah, but it's the thugs who're the bad guys here! I was just-"

"I'm taking you down to headquarters either way." He shrugged as he got out a pair of handcuffs.

Korra took in her surroundings, noticing how more and more cycles were starting to surround her. She could still make a run for it, but risk leaving behind Naga, which she wasn't about to do. She finally slid down the polar dogs back and landed on the ground next to the cop, wrists extended. "You know, I'm actually the Avatar. Just…throwing that out there."

"Yeah," He smirked and started walking her to a van parked next to his bike. "and so is every other person we catch."

Her eyes widened slightly, trained on his face until the door shut, leaving her in a dimly lit metal room.

* * *

"What are you still doing here, Officer Pointy Hair? Shouldn't you be off riding around, ruining other people's day?" Korra was glaring at him, with her lower lip stuck out like an Arctic hippo.

"I would love to, but Chief Beifong insisted I watch over you while she talks with Master Tenzin." He sat down in the chair opposite of her, eyes trained on hers. "So it turns out you're the actual Avatar."  
She smirked. "Surprise, surprise. Who knew?" She leaned back as far in her chair as she could with her cuffs that were attached to the table. "Oh wait. I did, the whole time. Asshole."

He glared. "You know you're still in a lot of trouble, even if you're the Avatar."

"I was helping people; do you really think I deserved to be punished?" Korra tried giving him her best heroic face.

"Yes."

Her lips fell into a frown. "Jeez, no need to be such a jerk."

They fell into an awkward silence, only broken by Korra periodically tapping her fingers against the table, filling the room with a clinking noise.

"Can you-" Mako started loudly, but then lowered his voice a bit. "stop that? Just. Stop it please."

She smirked then placed her hands flat on the table. "How did you end up in the police service anyways? You look really young."

"Hard work and determination, something I doubt you know nothing of."

She frowned and was about to insult his eyebrows, but then the door opened up, revealing Tenzin and the chief. "Tenzin! Hey, how's it goin'?"

The airbender frowned at her, his face growing red. "You have no idea how much trouble you're in, young lady! Just…what exactly did you think you were doing?"

"My…Uh…Avatar duty of protecting the people?"

He opened his mouth as if to further yell at her, but stopped and collected his bearings. "Thank you, Lin, for your understanding and cooperation."

The older woman frowned and crossed her arms. "Whatever. Just get her out of my city." After she was done, Korra's restraints were removed. She jumped up immediately and stretched. "And watch it, kid. I have eyes everywhere."

Tenzin nodded towards the door. "Come along, Korra. We have…things to discuss."  
Korra's lips twitched downward, but she followed, only stopping to turn around and stick her tongue out at the young officer. He just glared back at her, his upper lip twitching like he had ate a can of sour sea prunes.

_What an asshole._

* * *

"I want you to meet my brother, Mako." Bolin's voice sounded especially serious and seductive tonight. _Must be Flirt-with Fangirls-Friday._

"Bolin, do you really think now's the best time?" Mako lowered his eyes as he continued strapping up his gear. "It's literally right before a game, we have five minutes."

"Wait a minute- Mako?" He heard a girl's surprised voice exclaim. "_The_ Mako? I heard you play on the radio!" Turning around to face his new companions, he caught sight of blue eyes and muscles that seemed slightly familiar. "Wait a second, don't I-"

Both of their eyes lit up with recognition as Mako whipped his head towards his brother. _Just how much of an idiot_ was _he? _"Do you know who that is?"

"Uh, yeah. Her name's Korra, she's interested in probending!" He turned his head and blocked his lips from the girls view. "I'm telling you there's something special about this one."

Mako's eyes lowered a bit. "Bolin, she's the Avatar."

Bolin looked confused for a second. "The one who was kidnapping all of the squirrel-cows? Or the one who used to run around naked all the time? Because I can look past the past Mako-"

_He's _such _an idiot. _"No, she's _the_ Avatar."

The two brothers turned and looked at the girl, who was currently snooping around the lockers near Hasook, who had just entered the room. "So what'd Tenzin say to Beifong so you could stay?" Mako crossed his arms and regarded her with a cool look.

"I don't know," she didn't look up from her findings. "What'd you do to get that stick shoved so far up your ass?"

"Ooohh!" Bolin called out, rushing over to high-five Korra. "That was a good one." She smirked over his shoulder at the firebender. "I mean…Uh," He glanced back at Mako nervously.

Mako grabbed his helmet and strapped it, then headed over to the platform that would bring them on stage. "Come on, Bolin. Let's get this over with."

Bolin frowned a bit, but then turned back to Korra with a smile and rushed off towards the two other men who were already ready to go.

Korra never thought that someone so stuff and uptight could bend so...flawlessly. Of course, she had heard him play on the radio but this was _nothing_ compared to what the announcer had described.

_I'm glad I didn't run_ she heard a little voice in the back of her mind. _He would have beaten the shit out of me_.

His twists and leaps were raw and got to the point. The Avatar had memorized most of all the bending forms and he was just going with the flow, doing what staying in the game and surviving required. It was exciting.

"Woohoo! Yes!" Bolin called out as he entered the room. "One more win and we're in the championship tournament!" He snapped his fingers and took off his helmet and lowered his eyelids at her. "So, what'd ya think, Korra? Bolin's got some moves, huh?"

She could barely contain her excitement. "Are you kidding?!" She picked him up by his shirt. "You guys-that was amazing! You do this every week?"

Bolin's eyes were a mix of fear and happiness. "Uh, yeah-"

"That's awesome!" Korra shoved him off, playfully, but sent him stumbling back a few steps.

The firebender that had captured most of her attention for the match entered and she turned, smile still plastered on her face. "I honestly didn't expect you to have any other traits besides annoying the crap out of people! You were on fire out there, pun intended."

Mako walked right past her without meeting her gaze. "Oh, you're still here?" He asked coolly.

Her smile fell. _Well, fine then_. "I guess I forgot you're a professional jerkbender as well as firebender." She glared at his back as she heard Bolin snort behind her. "Anyways. I've been training my whole life but I've never seen moves like that." She had started bouncing on her heels a little and wringing her hands. "Do you think you could teach me?!"

"You mean…you want me to train you?" Bolin's eyes were wide. "You want me to train _the Avatar?"_ He grabbed her by the shoulders. "Of course I will! Oh my Spirits this is the best day ever! Wait until I tell Pabu!"

"Pabu..?" Korra started to ask, but she was pulled off toward the training room before she could finish her question.

* * *

"Listen, Mako, I appreciate the fact that you care enough to help Tarrlock on his task force but I don't need you...babysitting me!" Korra glared at the firebender who was just casually putting up his gear like he didn't just announce he was going to be helping the demon spawn that the both of them knew him and Beifong _despised_.

"The chief asked me to keep an eye on him to make sure no funny business goes on and we need the extra money for the tournament." Mako slammed his locker shut and turned to the pouty Avatar. "...and I wanted to make sure you don't get into trouble, since it seems to follow you everywhere."

She glanced away. Ten years of training had made her strong, not just her bending, but also her physical body. There was hardly anything Korra couldn't handle; why couldn't he get that through his stupid thick head? And why did she get little tingles down her stomach when she thought of him wanting to protect her that _weren't_ just jolts of irritation? They were friends. She knew that and understood it but why couldn't she _accept _it?

Mako sighed again. "You and I both know just how strong the Equalists are, Korra. Do you really think you can fight them off yourself?"

Korra continued her intense glare at the ground, her voice seeming to disappear. Why did he always make her feel this way?

"It's best if we work as a team, together. " He reached out to pat her shoulder and she slightly jumped at the contact. "We've got each others backs, right?"

She smiled at him, a small blush creeping up her cheeks. The firebender's hair was slightly tousled.

"I should get going." Korra secured her ponytail and straightened out her shirt. "Tenzin will flip out if I'm out past curfew." She forced out a nervous laugh and looked away again, walking towards the door.

"Yeah, Bolin will start worrying about me if I don't hurry up...See you later?"

"Yeah." Korra shut the door after her and sighed. At least they would be spending time together. She was scared that he would start neglecting her in favor of Asami, but…they had this together now.

* * *

**an: ****I may post another chapter but for now I'll just label this as a one-shot. Right now I'm sort of dry on ideas. We'll see.**


End file.
